Taking Over Halloweentown
by FallenRiotforSweetRevenge
Summary: Why was NBC filmed? Why is it a musical? One night, friends Henry and Danny fall into Halloweentown. Mesmorized, the two come up with an idea to share the town with the world. With Henry's skills as a director and Danny's musical ability the friends try convince the town to let them share the town's story with the world, but will the citizens cooperate?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello, all! This is my second NBC fanfic. This one will be lighter and more fun than Blindspot (I have not abandoned Blindspot in case you were wondering). The chapters of this one will probably run on the short side, and I am not quite sure how long this fic will be, so we will get to find out together :) Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer! I own nothing! (Except the idea for the story)**

It was a dark, chilly night in the woods where Henry and Danny were wandering through the woods. Neither men knew why they had decided to take their walk in the woods at all, let alone this one. This particular wood gave off an eerier vibe than either man had felt before.

"Something feels wrong about this place, Henry." Danny remarked to his friend.

"Yes, I sensed it, too. There must be something different about this wood." he agreed.

"Tim would love this place, don't you think?" Henry suggested. Danny shrugged.

"It is an interesting setting, but what would he do with it? It's only a wood."

The men were not sure how long they had been exploring the woods when they stumbled upon a clearing of trees painted with peculiar pictures on their trunks. The men spun around the clearing, inspecting every image. One trunk had a painting that depicted a colorful egg. An easter egg, perhaps? Another was of a green clover. There was also a great red heart, a Christmas tree, and a turkey.

"Do you suppose that they could possibly represent holidays?" Danny wondered. Henry took another look around the clearing, pondering this.

"Yes, yes of course. Let's see," Henry pointed at the egg, "Easter."

"Saint Patrick's Day." Danny indicated the clover tree

Yes, and Valentine's day."

"Isn't that only a commercial holiday, Henry?"

"Of course, but aren't they all?"

"Fair enough."

"There's Christmas, and obviously, that one would be Thanksgiving." Henry concluded as he pointed at the Christmas tree and turkey trunks.

"Don't forget the Halloween tree." Danny added. Halloween tree? Henry did not remember seeing such a tree.

"What Halloween tree?"

"That one." Danny gestured to a tree that Henry had not noticed before. It was a jack-o-lantern with a black menacing grin, as if it were leering at the men. Henry stared at the tree for a few minutes, wondering how he could not have noticed it. It stood out much more than the others, but perhaps that was his penchant for all creepy stories speaking. Neither men spoke as they stared at the tree, transfixed on its picture. Henry took a step towards the tree, reaching out to touch the jack-o-lantern's black, triangular nose. There was something odd about the nose's appearance.

"Henry, what are you doing?" Henry stepped closer to the tree and reached out, his hand resting on the jack-o-lantern's nose.

"The nose on this pumpkin. It almost appears to be," Henry twisted the nose and was surprised to notice that it did, in fact, turn, "A doorknob." Henry finished as he swung the pumpkin face open, revealing a pumpkin shaped void. Danny let his mouth fall open in awe of what he just saw. They took a few minutes to admire the pumpkin shaped void.

"Well Danny, would you like to do the honors?"

"The honors?"

"Why yes, go into the entrance. See what's on the other side. I'll follow you, of course, as I, myself, am curious to see what is on the other side."

"Are you sure that it is a good idea to go through a strange door? We have no idea where it could possibly go." Danny warned.

"It's all part of the experience! Where's your sense of adventure?" But before Danny could protest a strong wind surged from the void. Both men exclaimed as it sucked them in as if they were dust up against a vacuum.

The fall down the tree was quick,yet lasted an eternity at the same time. Eventually Henry and Danny fell onto a dirt filled, moist ground. They stumbled upright, recovering from the shock of the fall.

"Well that was unpleasant." Danny grumbled as he rubbed his temple.

"Oh please, it was exhilarating and you know it." Henry shot back. Danny's eyes widened as he observed there surroundings.

"Uh, Henry, you might want to see this."

"See what?" Henry finished dusting himself off and looked up to see what Danny could find so important to point out. Danny did not need to answer for Henry noticed what Danny would want him to see immediately.

"Oh my, Tim would just love this place."


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh my, Tim would love this place." Henry muttered as he scanned the horizon. He and Danny were standing in a graveyard, the largest graveyard they had ever seen or been in. Tombstones were lined up in neat rows that seemed to stretch out and go on forever. The occasional mausoleum dotted the plot and some peculiar looking statues were scattered throughout it all.

"Well that's just fantastic. We're stuck in this cemetery with nowhere to go," Danny grumbled, kicking a headstone, "What to do we do now?" Before Henry could answer, the two were whipped with a howling wind and what sounded like moaning.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Henry demanded as the moaning increased. Suddenly three ghosts approached the men.

"Whoooooooo are yoooooou?" the first questioned.

"Hello, gentlemen,"

"IIIIIIIII am a woooomaaan!" the second ghost wailed in protest to Henry's address.

"And lady," the second ghost was satisfied by this amendment, "My name is Henry Selick, and this," he gestured to Danny who was too stunned to say anything, "is my good friend Danny Elfman."

"A pleasure to meeeeet yoooooou!" the third ghost said.

"Likewise." Danny stumbled over the words.

"But wait! What are your names?" Henry questioned. The spirits turned to each other.

"Oooooour naaaames?" the first began.

"We have not uuuuused them in yeeeears." the second explained.

"I doooo not even reeeeemember miiine!" the third exclaimed

"It's Rupert!" the second yelled without stumbling over her vowels this time.

"IIIIIIIII am Chaaaaaaarles." the first supplied.

"And IIIIIIIIIII am caaaalled Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucy." the second supplied.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Charles, Lucy, and Rupert. What exactly are three ghosts like you doing in a graveyard. Haunting it?" Henry joked.

"Nooooot exactly." Rupert answered

"Weeeee are prooootecting it." Lucy shrilled

"Weeeeee are waaatching oover it." Charles concluded.

"Watching over it? What are you protecting it from?"

"We are protecting the town from intruuuuuders like youuuu!" Charles answered.

"Town? What town?" Danny questioned, finally snapping out of his daze. It was at this time that the two men took notice of the quaint little town, framed by a golden, yellow moon that was situated on a hill outside of the cemetery gates.

"Ah, that town."

"Let's go take a look at it." Henry suggested as he stepped past the ghosts, towards the clutter of old cobblestone paths and masonry. A choir of wailing screams stirred up behind the friends as they left the three protesting ghosts. They walked on through the cemetery, through its gate and onto the pumpkin patch. Once they left the cemetery they passed a scarecrow leaning on a signpost that read "Halloween Town as they traversed the pumpkin patch and the steep hill, leading up to the town gate.

"Those ghosts aren't too great at their jobs! Why, I could protect a town entrance better than those three fouls. Nothing would ever get past me! " Danny laughed as they approached the gate to the town.

"Oh, I don't know, Danny. Those silly ghosts sure gave you a fright." Henry smirked recalling his friend's speechlessness when they were confronted by the town's ghostly guardians.

"Me, frightened? Never!" Danny retorted.

"Names." a scratchy voice croaked out. Henry laughed out as Danny jumped and concealed a startled cry at the sound of the new voice.

"Never frightened, huh?" Danny glared in return. The sound of a sigh from the gate caused the two to search for the source of the voice.

"Down in here, boys." They followed the sound of the voice to find a small square opening in the side of the gate. A sign that read "gatekeeper" was hung above the opening. Inside the opening was a small bird-like creature, who was leaning against the stone with a disinterested look on his face. What appeared to be an eyebrow was raised as he observed the human men.

"You two aren't from around here, are you?"

"What gave it away? We're alive?" Henry quipped thinking of the only other creatures he had seen since they arrived in this strange town. The gatekeeper rolled his eyes.

"Get out of here. Only Halloween Town citizens are allowed beyond this point."

"Halloween Town. Why does that sound familiar?" Henry wondered out loud.

"Seriously, I mean it. Get out of here."

"Yeah, you're right. That name does sound familiar." Danny responded, ignoring the gatekeeper's demand.

"Come on, get out of here. You're cutting into my nap time." the gatekeeper was getting more annoyed.

"You know, I think Tim wrote a poem about a place called Halloweenland." Henry suggested.

"What now?" the gatekeeper was suddenly alert at the mention of this.

"That's it! I remember now!

'It was late one fall in Halloweenland,

And the air had quite a chill.

Against the moon a skeleton sat,

Alone upon a hill.

He was tall and thin with a bat bow tie;

Jack Skellington was his name.'" Danny recited.

"Jack Skellington? That Tim guy wrote a poem about Jack?!" the gatekeeper flew into a frenzy in his booth, digging around in search of something.

"You know Tim?" Henry asked, quite surprised.

"He couldn't have written that poem about _this_ town! How would he have gotten here?" Danny speculated.

"Most likely, the same way we did." Henry shrugged.

"But that means," Danny trailed off in thought, "there must be a way out of here! But where?"

"Aha! There you are!" the men's conversation was interrupted as the gatekeeper resurfaced with a radio in hand, "We've got a code three. I repeat. Code three. That's right, Mayor. I know it's been ten years. No, it's not him, but they seem to know him. I suggest you get His Majesty the Pumpkin King down here as soon as possible. Over." the gatekeeper set the radio down and eyed the two men.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay right where you are. Jack's going to come down to pay you a visit." the gatekeeper informed them.

" _The_ Jack Skellington is coming? This is just great!" Henry exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah he's great. Keep your mouths shut until he gets here." the gatekeeper said as he leaned back and opened up a magazine.


	3. Chapter 3

The Gatekeeper continued to flip through his magazine as the two friends quietly observed their surroundings. As the wait grew longer, the friends had decided to take a seat on the leaf covered ground, leaning back on the stone walls of the gate. It was taking quite a long time for Jack to get there. Just when Henry was about to say something, a bright and jolly voice beat him to breaking the silence.

"The Mayor said we have a code three down here?" the Pumpkin King questioned as he walked up to the gate. The gatekeeper quickly moved over to his window looking out on the inside of the town to speak with Jack.

Henry and Danny darted up from their places on the ground to try to get a look at the skeleton king. Unfortunately, since Jack was speaking with the Gatekeeper, the Gatekeeper's post obscured their view of him. The friends tried a few different angles to try to get a better look at him, but they had no such luck.

"Good morning, your majesty!" the Gatekeeper greeted, bowing low in front of the Pumpkin King who was leaning down in order to be eye-level with the gatekeeper's window.

"Oh, goodness, Mr. Gatekeeper! Please, just call me Jack."

"Of course, Mr. Jack, sir." the gatekeeper stumbled out.

"Just Jack, please." the skeleton pleaded.

"Yes, Jack. Sir." the gatekeeper "amended". The pumpkin king held his bony temple in his hand and sighed. He would not be getting through to the gatekeeper today.

"You said that we have a Code Three down here?"

"Yes, sir, they are right outside the town gate." the gatekeeper stated, trying to sound as professional as possible in his king's company. He had to impress Jack and convince him that he is worthy of his post, after all.

"Outside of the gate? What are they doing out there?" The Pumpkin King asked in a surprised voice.

"Well, they are not…" the crow started to answer.

"Let them in at once, please, Mr. Gatekeeper." Jack ordered. The glorified bouncer of a bird just about fell out of his office window.

"Let them in?! But, your Terribleness, they are not citizens of Halloween Town! That's a violation of Code One!"

"I am aware of our town's security codes, Mr, Gatekeeper, but these men are guests."

"Guests? But they're Tim's friends! We made a third security code specifically for him!"

"Which is why I would like to have a chat with them before we send them back home. I want us to have an understanding about what they have seen here." The Gatekeeper did not appear to be happy with his king's decision, but he complied any way. The crow reluctantly pushed a button that no one else could see and the sound of creaking wrought iron gates pierced the air as Henry and Danny were finally given a good view of the Pumpkin King they had heard about from Tim.

They gasped as they got a look at Jack Skellington. He was, well, a skeleton man. He was tall and slender, with empty eye sockets for eyes and a "toothy" grin. He was wearing the infamous pinstripe suit and bat bowtie that Tim had described in his poem ten years prior. He looked, pretty much, the same way that the two men had imagined he would look, but that did not make the event any less surreal.

"Is it really you, Mr. Skellington?" Danny asked as he stared at Jack in awe.

"Yes, I am. And please, call me Jack." he grinned, sticking his hand out to Danny. Danny numbly shook his hand as he continued to stare in shock.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jack! My name is Henry. Henry Selick." Henry held out his own hand to the Pumpkin King.

"Nice to meet you, Henry." Jack replied, shaking Henry's hand. He turned back to Danny, "And what is your name, sir?"

"D-Danny." Danny answered as he struggled to regain his voice.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, too, Danny." Jack laughed as his smile widened. The Pumpkin wrapped his arm around Danny's shoulders and gestured to the town in front of him and Henry.

"Welcome to Halloweentown, gentlemen!" The men gawked at the town before him. It was somewhat similar to any other tiny village, yet it was unique in a very gray, stony, slightly creepy way. For starters, there was a square in the middle of town before them made of cobbled paths. In the center of that square clearing was a stone sculpture of a sort of small dragon spewing a green acidic looking liquid into the base of the fountain. Surrounding the square was stone house after stone house. Beyond the town limits they could spot vast amounts of graves, followed by endless forest. A bright golden moon framed the setting in a crown of light.

The men were distracted from taking in the view when they suddenly heard a voice calling out. Henry then saw the squat "man" scurrying towards them on stubby little legs. He was wearing a suit with a black widow brooch in place of a bow tie and a ridiculously tall black top hat. What was the most startling thing about him was his pale, frightened complexion and frowning blue mouth

"Jack! There you are! I was so worried. The gatekeeper said we had a Code Three and I, I" the man panted as he waddled closer.

"It's alright, Mayor. There is absolutely nothing to worry about!" Jack assured the dispositionally nervous man.

"But, but I heard we have a Code Three!" he explained anxiously.

"I've got it handled, Mayor. Everything is all under control." the skeleton king assured the unnecessary second leader of the town.

"Thank you, Jack! You surely are the best!" the Mayor said as he sad, pale face turned around to reveal his happy, peachy face. And that was when Danny fainted.

Henry managed to get a hold of his friend and lean his body on his own. He turned to the Mayor (who had regressed back to his worried face) and the Pumpkin King.

"I have a feeling that the green liquid coming out of that fountain is water." Henry asked what was supposed to be a question.

"No, you would be correct. Quickly, let's bring him back to my home. I can get him some safe water there. Have a horrible day, Mayor!" Jack said as he began to lead the way back to his home.

The walk through town to wherever Jack's home was only took a few minutes. The two carried the unconscious Danny until Jack stopped in front of a wrought iron gate with a depiction of a jack-o-lantern in it. Jack pushed the gate open to reveal the narrowest stairs that Henry had ever seen and there was quite a few of them to cimb to get up to the tall manor before them.

Henry was exhausted by the time that he and the skeleton had managed to lay Danny on a couch.

"Is everything alright, Jack? The Mayor said there was a Code Three." a voice from a nearby room inquired.

"Everything is alright, darling. Would you be so kind to get me a glass of water?"

"What for? You do not drink water too often, Ja- oh!" the voice gasped as she entered the room to see Danny passed out on the couch. She was a red headed ragdoll. She was not quite as tall as the skeleton with big eyes and blue skin, sorry, cloth, and was dressed in a patchwork dress.

"Henry, this is my wife, Sally." Jack gestured to his ragdoll wife. Henry decided that now was not the time to question how that worked out.

"Hello, Sally." Henry greeted. Sally uttered a quick hello as she dashed back into the last room, which must have been the kitchen, on unsteady legs. The sound of running water could be heard in seconds. She soon returned with a small glass of water, which she immediately dumped onto Danny's face. The ginger haired man sputtered as he came to. He sat up and began wiping at his face.

"Why I am wet?" he asked, staring at where the water splashed onto his clothes.

"You fainted. That Mayor must have scared you." Henry shrugged.

"That's ridiculous. Who would get scared of some silly townsperson?" Danny retorted.

"Hello, Danny. My name is Sally." the ragdoll greeted him. He visibly jumped as he looked to see who had spoken

"Not scared at all?"

"Shut up." Danny sighed in defeat. Sally giggled. Jack cleared his throat after the conclusion of the little fight. All heads swung to face him.

"Now, what are you two doing here?" Jack asked them in all serious. He needed to know. It was his duty, after all, to monitor the comings and goings of anyone who did not belong in Halloweentown.

"We were only walking outside in the woods and we found these doors with different pictures representing them. We were only curious, sir. We did not mean to trespass. We'll be leaving whenever we can, Jack." Danny explained nervously.

"Yes, we shall be sending you back home in the morning, but I will let you two spend the night here because it is so late."

"What? Send us back? No, I don't want to go back!" Henry exclaimed.

"What?" Danny and Jack questioned in unison.

"Of course not! This place is incredible. I have read Tim's poem many times, but it could never do this place justice. I want to share this place with the world."

"Absolutely not. Halloweentown's existence is supposed to be a secret. That is why I wanted to make sure you two understood that before I send you home in the morning." Jack answered.

"Don't worry, Jack. No one will know Halloweentown is real. I want to make a movie about that time you took over Christmas. We could tell everyone that we animated it or something and no one would question it. It's brilliant!" Henry assured the Master of Fright. Jack was about to answer when Sally spoke up.

"It sounds innocent enough, Jack. I think it would be fun." he turned to her.

"You do?" she nodded with a small smile. A wide grin spread across Jack's face.

"Alright, it's settled."

"Great! Now all you have to do is tell me everything that happened that Christmas so that I can write a script, and then we can get the whole town involved with production and be part of the cast."

"Sounds terrifying!" Jack grinned. Danny's eyebrow shot up at the use of the odd phrase. Henry shrugged.

"What will I do?" Danny questioned. Henry was taken aback by this question. He had not considered Danny's skills when planning this in the last hour.

"I don't know, um," Henry thought for a minute, "Do you have any other scores that you are working on?"

"Not since I wrote the one for _Batman_ last year."

"I guess we could make this movie into a musical." Henry acquiesced.

"Really?" Danny sounded a bit surprised.

"Sure, why not. There's a musical about cats, so why not make one about a town where everyday is Halloween, and their king decided to take over Christmas because he got bored?"

"Alright. I'll do it."

"Well, that isn't _exactly_ what happened." Jack defended himself sheepishly.

"Then what did happen? I want to know everything." Henry insisted as he took a notepad out of his jacket.

"Of course, well, you see…" the Pumpkin King obliged as he launched into the tale.


	4. Chapter 4

Henry and Danny listened in awe as the Master of Fright retold the thrilling events of that fateful Christmas. He retold his crushing boredom and instant fascination in the the new holiday he had stumbled on. He told of how he struggled to convey the idea of Christmas to his loyal citizens.

Occasionally, Sally would jump in to tell the friends about how she had cared for Jack for such a long time and how she worried about his growing obsession with Christmas, especially after the premonition she had one night laying outside Jack's front gate. She explained how she would have to sneak out of her father's house to attend meetings and help deliver ingredients to Jack, and how she had attempted to stop Jack from taking off. Finally she told of her failed rescue mission to save Sandy Claws and how its aftermath led to Jack discovering how she had felt about him for such a long time.

Henry listened to it all, picturing how it would have all played out in his mind, while Danny listened for specific topics to write songs about to tell the tale correctly.

"What a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing, Mr. Skellington." Danny stated with a smile as the couple finished telling the tale.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all! And please, it's Jack," Jack insisted. Henry did not say anything for a moment. Danny studied his friend, wondering what he was calculating in his head.

"Henry?"

"Oh yes, wonderful story, wonderful story." he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Is something wrong?" Sally asked, worried.

"No, no," he assured her, "I'm only thinking."

"About what, Mr. Selick?" Jack asked, ever curious.

"I believe I should interview the townspeople about that Christmas, see what they have anything to say or add. I believe I should get as many perspectives on this tale as possible, so that we can tell this story the way it ought to be told."

"What a horrible idea! I'll make an announcement at once!" Jack decided. He was up and out of the room before anyone could blink.

"It's the middle of the night. Why would he want to make the announcement when no one is up…"

"TOWN MEETING, TOWN MEETING TONIGHT!" called a voice from outside. Henry dashed to the window to see a stout, oddly shaped man driving a hearse and proclaiming his message through a megaphone for the whole town to hear.

"That's the Mayor. He's gathering everyone for the meeting." Sally answered before anyone could ask as she stood to look out the window.

"You mean to say that Jack is going to start a meeting in a few minutes?" Danny inquired from his spot on the couch.

"Oh yes," the ragdoll turned back to him, "Once Jack is interested in something, he just can't let it go. And he is now very interested in this 'movie' you speak of. He will want to share his intrigue with the citizens of Halloween Town, and arrange those interviews for you, of course."

"I don't know what to say." Henry declared, staring out of the window in disbelief.

"You don't have to say anything, but we better get going or we'll be late." the ragdoll informed them as she opened the door for the two friends. Clearly, they was no time to waste. Henry and Danny bolted from their seats and the house following Sally out of the manor and into the town square.

She guided them through the streets they had seen earlier that evening when Jack showed them to Skellington Manor. They passed the fountain and its odd green water along with many houses in questionable states. It became very obvious what building was the town hall with its towering stature and columns, but what really gave it away were the many monsters crowding its entrance.

There were the classic monsters, of course, such as witches, vampires, devils, and ghouls, but Henry was more intrigued by the more unique monsters such as a giant man with an axe in his head, a man covered in some sort of brown glop, and a man who appeared to look mostly normal until he tipped his hat to a sea creature woman and revealed a smaller version of himself underneath.

"Amazing!" Henry mused.

"Creepy." Danny noted, but not without awe. The two men eyed each other in surprise at each's statements. Sally cleared her throat.

"Shall we head in? I'm sure Jack will want to start right away."

"Yes, of course." Henry then took the lead, marching up the steps into the town hall. Sally pointed to the front row where Jack had reserved three seats for them.

Henry took his seat and took in the eerie view of the town hall's inside. It was constructed of old, weathered wood that seemed to be holding together with cobwebs, bats fluttered around in corners. Even more when the lights dimmed and the Mayor turned on a spot light that pointed directly to a podium in the center of the stage.

A grand applause rose up from the citizens as Jack appeared from behind the curtain to step up to the podium.

"Frightful evening, everyone! I've gathered you all here for a special surprise that I just can't wait to show you all!" His smile was wide and he was practically bouncing as he said this. An amused chatter spread throughout the room.

"A surprise?"

"What could it be?"

"Shh, Jack will tell us!"

"Settle down, everyone!" the skeleton man's smile was glued in place, and the room became immediately silent.

"Thank you! Now, in order to explain the surprise I would like to invite our two guests, Henry and Danny, to come up on stage!"

Henry stood and Danny leaned over to whisper in his ear, "We can make a run for it now. It's not too late."

"Are you out of your mind?" Henry whispered back, "we have an amazing opportunity! I'll direct a movie and you'll compose. You like composing." Danny hesitated, "Yeah, but"

"Now come on up, gentlemen! Don't be shy." Jack interrupted.

"Are you coming?" Henry asked. Danny paused only a moment longer.

"Alright, alright. I can't leave alone in this madness."

"That's the spirit!" They joined Jack on stage.

"Thank you for joining me on stage tonight, gentlemen," Jack turned his attention back to the audience, "Now, let me introduce to you Mr. Selick and Mr. Elfman. They're friends of Mr. Burton!"

And that was as far as Jack got before the audience erupted in protest.


	5. Chapter 5

" _Thank you for joining me on stage tonight, gentlemen," Jack turned his attention back to the audience, "Now, let me introduce to you Mr. Selick and Mr. Elfman. They're friends of Mr. Burton!"_

 _And that was as far as Jack got before the audience erupted in protest._

"Not Burton!" cried one voice.

"He tried to expose us!" another proclaimed

"He almost ruined Halloween!"

"We don't want any of Mr. Burton's friends here!"

"Settle down, settle down, everyone!" Jack urged waving his long, thin arms. When no one stopped, the Master of Fright did the only thing he could think of that would get their attention: he made an especially terrifying face and roared.

This did the trick. The room went silent. The monsters who had climbed onto the Town Hall's pews clambered back into the seats, too frightened to make another peep, though they still weren't thrilled by their king's news.

"Did you see that, Danny?" Henry whispered. He then decided, based on Danny's petrified face that he had definitely seen it.

"I can use that." the director muttered to himself. The Pumpkin, delightedly by his audience's attention continued on with his announcement.

"As you know, Mr. Burton accidently discovered our world about ten years ago and we welcomed him as our guest. Also, as you know, I may have relayed to him the events of that time I, regrettably, tried to takeover Christmas. Of course, in hindsight we also, also know that that was a mistake as he wrote a poem retelling that Christmas to the public. Yes, it could have become a disaster. Halloween could have been discovered by the Mortals, but, fortunately, they took it to be a delightful piece of fiction, and everything was made right."

"So what are these two doing here?" the Wolfman questioned.

"That's a great question, Glenn," Jack's grin stretched as wide as it could, displaying his excitement at his own news, "Mr. Selick and Mr. Elfman wish to make a movie here in town based on the events of that fateful Christmas!"

The citizens must have forgotten their fear of their king from a few moments ago because they protested as loud as before at the news.

"We're lucky no one believed Burton! Now you want to give the Mortals _real_ footage of us reenacting making Christmas?!" a short witch shouted.

"They'll be suspicious for sure!" a corpse added.

"This makes no sense!"

"Not smart, not smart at all!"

"What's a movie?" a younger voice asked. At hearing this voice, which belonged to a small ghoul wearing a skeleton mask, the citizens paused their outrage to join in with him.

"Yeah, what exactly are we doing?" a mummy asked.

"It works like the Scrying Bowl in the Town Square." the taller witch answered. The citizens mummered among themselves.

 _They don't even know what a movie is?_ Henry pondered. Well, why would they? They were monsters who lived in their own sort of world away from humans. They only knew about Halloween and how to scare people, and, apparently, about Christmas. Henry stepped up to the podium. Jack was a bit surprised by this, but stepped aside for the director.

"If I may have your attention, please." he did not need to ask twice. The citizens may not be crazy about two men's arrival to town or their want to make this "movie", but they sure wanted to know what a movie is now. "As Jack said, my friend, Danny, and I would like to make a movie based on the time your king inspired you all to celebrate and take over Christmas. Now, a movie is a form of visual entertainment that shows a story."

"Like a play?" A skeleton hanging from a large tree perked up.

"Yes, like a play. Only we'll use cameras to capture the play so that it can be watched again and again whenever you want."

"So this "movie" is a play that can be watched at any time?"

"Yes!"

"And you wish to share this movie you speak of with other Mortals?"

"Of course." The vampire turned to Jack.

"This is a terrible idea! The Mortals will know we exist!"

"Now that's the beauty of movies," Henry continued, "many times, the stories that are told through movies are just that; stories. There are many movies that feature creatures such as yourselves."

"Really?" the vampire became curious.

"Why yes. Have you heard of Dracula?"

"Of course! He's a cousin!"

"He's also a character in an old movie. The Mortals love him!"

" In that case a movie may not be such a bad idea if they love him…"

"I'm still not convinced this is a good idea." the taller witch chimed in.

"I hear witches are rather popular right now."

"Popular?" The witch paused.

"Mortals adore Halloween and the monsters associated with it, but the best part is that none of them actually believe that Halloween creatures are real. They won't think anything of a movie staring actual Halloween monsters because the people don't believe you actually exist and a movie sure won't change their mind, especially since they are familiar with Tim's poem. They won't find anything strange about a movie based off of his poem. I promise you all that your town is safe, and, more importantly, the Mortals will love you all." Now the monsters were really chatting among themselves.

Could this movie actually not be a bad idea. Some liked the idea of being adored by the Mortals, but some were still skeptical. Jack listened to this whole exchange, barely keeping his eagerness in check. He sure thought it was a splendid idea.

"So," at hearing Henry's voice everyone stopped talking, "here's what I need from all of you. I would like each of you to reflect on what happened that year and give me a statement of the events of that Christmas and the time before that in order for me to understand the whole story."

"What a horrible idea! I endorse it at once!" a squat two-faced man who must be the Mayor announced.

"Danny and I will be here in the morning, ready to hear your statements. Please take the night to reflect and report to us tomorrow."

"Thank you for that announcement, Mr. Selick," he turned to his subjects, "Please take Mr. Selick's words to heart. This Town Meeting is adjourned." And with that the citizens began chattering excitedly about the movie as they filed out to reflect on that Christmas that happened ten years ago.

"We did it, Danny," he clapped the musician's back, startling him out of his shock at last.

"Did what? What just happened?"

"We're gonna make a movie, Elfman. That's what."


End file.
